And So It Begins: Bitcoins seized by DEA

quote:The Drug Enforcement Administration posted an Official Notification that Bitcoin (i.e. property) belonging to Eric Daniel Hughes was seized for forfeiture pursuant to 21 U.S.C. § 881, because the property was used or acquired as a result of a violation of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. §§ 801 et seq.)

re: And So It Begins: Bitcoins seized by DEA(Posted by Poodlebrain on 6/24/13 at 12:33 pm to Broke)

quote:I soooooo want to know what Taint Analysis is.

Come on, who wouldn't want to include experience as a Taint Analyst on their resume? Just think of the conversations you could have at job interviews.

But to get back on topic, I wonder what Wiki and Josh will have to say on the subject? Just how did the DEA go about seizing the Bitcoins? Will the DEA be able to back trace the Bitcoins to determine who possessed them in the past, and will they be investigated for possible crimes?

I want to see how they are going to explain that the government can't now track those Bitcoins from when they were originally mined through all who possessed them at any time. They can claim the government won't be able to place a name with the e-wallet, but that is just conjecture on their part. Given the recent stories regarding the information the NSA has been gathering, how confident can anyone be that their Bitcoin transactions have not been recorded and analyzed by government for purposes of identifying the transactors.

re: And So It Begins: Bitcoins seized by DEA(Posted by Poodlebrain on 6/24/13 at 1:54 pm to Broke)

I have to give Wiki and Josh credit for abandoning the claim of complete anonymity. The article cited in the OP did make reference to complete anonymity for the owners of some Bitcoins after the Bitcoins were merged into a block of 200 Bitcoins used in a subsequent transaction. I doubt this is true.

The government will be able to identify the party that received the Bitcoins from the guy who had some of his Bitcoins seized. That party will undergo scrutiny from the government, and its transactions will be subjected to taint analysis. If the government feels it has probable cause it will seize that party's Bitcoins, and other records of the transactions to look for evidence of criminal activities, and information about others who may have participated in such activities.

Of course if you don't use Bitcoins for liiegal activities you shouldn't have much to worry about. Other than maybe a collapse in value.

re: And So It Begins: Bitcoins seized by DEA(Posted by WikiTiger on 6/24/13 at 5:25 pm to Broke)

quote:I soooooo want to know what Taint Analysis is.

Taint is the % of funds received by an address that can be traced back to another address.

The data can be used to evaluate the anonymity provided by a mixing service. For example Send Coins from Address A to a Mixing service then withdraw to address B. If you can find Address A on the taint list of Address B then the mixing service has not sufficiently severed the link between your addresses. The more "taint" the stronger the link that remains.